Gilcrease exhibit looks at 1762 Cherokee society

By Staff Reports

TULSA, Okla. – An upcoming Gilcrease Museum exhibition will provide insights into how Cherokee and British societies viewed each other by first-time observers during the pre-Revolutionary war era.

Sponsored by the Cherokee Nation, “Emissaries of Peace: The 1762 Cherokee and British Delegations” opens July 4 and continues through Jan. 10, 2010.

The exhibit relies on the memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake, a British officer sent to the Cherokee capital of Chota after a peace treaty was concluded in November 1761. His memoirs provide one of the best accounts of Cherokee life and society in the late 18th century and were published about the time of his death in 1765.

In the exhibition, archaeological materials excavated from 18th century Cherokee sites, historical documents, and British artifacts from the period are matched with artwork and illustrations to tell the story of these two nations and their representatives who made diplomatic missions to each other’s capitals in 1762.